|
WORLD'S BEST ART
For a list of the best examples of
oils, watercolours, mixed
media from 1300-present, see:
Greatest Paintings Ever.
For the top 3-D artworks, see:
Greatest Sculptures Ever.
HISTORY
OF VISUAL ARTS
For important dates in the
development of fine art and
other artforms, see:
History of Art.
HISTORY OF SCULPTURE
For a guide to the origins and
development of 3-D art, including
major achitectural movements,
see: Sculpture History.
BEST PLASTIC ARTISTS
For a list of the top 100 3-D artists
(500 BCE - 2009), please see:
Greatest Sculptors.
Irish Sculpture (c.1800-present)
FORMS OF SCULPTING
For different types of 3-D
carving/casting, see:
Stone Sculpture
Granite, limestone, sandstone
and other rock-types.
Marble Sculpture
Pentelic, Carrara, Parian marbles.
Wood Carving
Chip carving, relief carving of
softwoods and hardwoods.
Bronze Sculpture
Lost-wax (cire perdue) casting
method and others.
|
Problems of Definition
It is not clear whether the meaning of
plastic arts can be extended to include all forms of three-dimensional
art, or just those that have been plasticized or shaped. For example,
some authorities appear to include disciplines such as architecture (an
applied art), printmaking and film within
the general category. If these activities were to be included, they would
be anomalies. (See also: Types of Art.)
History of the Plastic Arts
The origins of this category date from
the "cupule art" discovered
at the Auditorium Cave in Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh, Central India (290,000-700,000
BCE). Other prehistoric examples include the proto-sculpture known as
the Venus of Berekhat
Ram (230,000-700,000 BCE), the ivory carvings of animals and birds
found in the Swabian Jura (c.33,000-30,000 BCE), and the ceramic Venus
of Dolni Vestonice (c.25,000 BCE). The earliest pots were found at the
Jomon pottery Odaiyamamoto I site, in Japan - Chinese
pottery came later. The largest hoard of plastic art ever discovered
is the Chinese Terracotta
Army (c.210 BCE), from Shaanxi province, China. Scholars estimate
it took 38 years to make and involved a workforce of 700,000.
Clay sculpture - mostly pottery - was widespread
throughout early Mediterranean civilizations, including Ancient Greece.
Greek pottery featured numerous
types such as Geometric Style, Oriental Style, Black-Figure
and Red-Figure. The other popular plastic art of Classical Antiquity
was sculpture.
Greek
sculpture, divided into The Archaic Period (c.650-500 BCE); The Classical
Period (c.500-323 BCE); and The Hellenistic Period (c.323-100 BCE), was
practised by famous plastic artists like Polykleitos (5th century BCE),
Myron (Active 480-444 BCE), Phidias (c.488-431 BCE), Callimachus (Active
432-408 BCE), Skopas (Active 395-350 BCE), Lysippos (c.395-305 BCE), Praxiteles
(Active 375-335 BCE), and Leochares (Active 340-320 BCE). Famous works
included: The Colossus of Rhodes, The Dying Gaul, The
Winged Victory of Samothrace, Laocoon and His Sons and the
Venus de Milo.
|
